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E39 (1997 - 2003) The BMW 5-Series (E39 chassis) was introduced in the United States as a 1997 model year car and lasted until the 2004 when the E60 chassis was released. The United States saw several variations including the 525i, 528i, 530i and 540i. -- View the E39 Wiki

The best the auto parts stores could do for me was the too-large 5/32" ID "Windshield Washer & Vacuum Tubing" ... so I'm beginning to be convinced we need to find a MAIL ORDER supplier of a few feet of this stuff.

It seems we need:

About 3 feet of 1/8" ID vacuum tubing (3.5mm ID actual spec)

Braided seems to be preferred

Silicone seems to be suggested for heat resistance

The question is WHERE to get that as I did not find anything like it at the local Autozone & O'Reilly Auto Parts stores.

Quote:

Originally Posted by poolman

You need to go back behind the intake on the driverside and replace the hose's back there as well.

I looked today. Not easy to see that second #4 hose without removing stuff. Nor could I see the #7 hose, which is apparently in the back of the engine.

you will need a flashlight and a mirror to see whats going on back there.

And, cn90 has photos from underneath the engine.

Is a light under the engine the best way to get access to replace those two hoses?

BTW, this post #2 says there is yet another 'large plastic" hose not pictured in the secondary air system diagram that needs replacing:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jase007

Cheap insurance to replace diverter valve (#1, #2, #8), vacuum hose to it (#4), large plastic 2nd air injection hose to/from 2nd air injection pump(not pictured) as they will prolong the life of your 2nd-ary air injection pump (proper working diaphragm in the diverter valve ensures closing to prevents hot acidic air/gases back into the SAP unit).

I used a heavy duty vac hose to replace the hose's back there--bought it by the foot from O'Reilly's
the hose looks like it has threads running through it and is much stronger than the OEM hose material.

It sure would be nice to see a PICTURE of that braided hose - and perhaps a part number (or description) as I couldn't find 'any' braided vacuum hose in the auto parts stores.

All I could find was this braided fuel-injection hose at O'Reillys:

Quote:

Originally Posted by doru

I am not sure you need to change ALL the rubber hoses you mentioned. "Heat stroke" affected hoses are those skinny vacuum rubber lines.

Hmmm.... that may work ... but if the nominal prices in Realoem are any indication, it will cost three hundred dollars to replace all the vacuum hoses at Realoem prices. Double and even triple that if my experience at the Silicon Valley BMW dealerships (San Jose, Mountainview, Fremont) are any example.

Without even adding up whatever inevitable hoses I missed ... the net is ... a whoppingly huge $300 dollars at Realoem nominal prices to replace just the vacuum hoses that I can find myself.

My three Silicon Valley BMW dealers (San Jose, Fremont, & Mountainview) typically charge twice to three times the Realoem prices ... so ... that's between five hundred and a thousand dollars just to replace the vacuum hoses that I've identified - for just the hoses!

Jason: I may have missed something big here (and it wouldn't be the first time).

Please explain:Q: How could replacing just these hoses at these nominal prices possibly be a good deal at the BMW dealer?

I don't need the MASSIVE amount info. and links for the hoses you need.
Unless you like to post HUGE amounts of stuff that just bogs down the server and the forum...

And, I am not saying you need to replace ALL the hoses under the hood of your car.
Ridiculous.
And, if you can't afford to buy vacuum hoses for this car (E39), then you bought the WRONG car, period.
And, who actually gets prices/ price quotes from Real OEM????
Why not call, or check out a vendor's site, then price the few items you need.
Not every single rubber hose within your car...
By trying to make-shift vacuum hoses for your car, you are going to end up with MORE vacuum leaks and problems IMO.

I don't need the MASSIVE amount info. and links for the hoses you need.

YOU don't need it; but people who are like I am, certainly do.

For example, you inherently know there are vacuum caps to be ordered and replaced. I don't.

You inherently know exactly which scattered-about hoses to replace when lean conditions are observed. I don't.

You inherently know when to buy from the dealer and when to buy better parts online. I don't.

You inherently know when the Realoem diagrams are wrong (e.g., in the case of the L-connector versus the F-connector). I don't.

You inherently know what the size designations indicate in Realoem diagrams. I don't.

I don't inherently know anything about the M54, like you seem to. I have to learn it. Piece by piece. (The good news is I disseminate that learning, so that others benefit from the effort; so it's worth helping me understand.)

But, I don't think everyone inherently knows everything like you do.

Worse yet, even when they know, people's descriptions vary so greatly that, even if we actually KNEW where all E39 problematic hoses were, we'd STILL have problems identifying them for sure (both by part number, and by auto-parts-store replacement size and by engine location).

If you can't afford to buy vacuum hoses for this car (E39), then you bought the WRONG car, period.

C'mon now. Don't continue to be ridiculous. Nobody is saying they can't afford to buy the replacement hoses for their BMW. You are the only one intimating anyone is saying that.

What is being said is that we should, at the very least, know WHERE to LOOK for deteriorated vacuum hoses ... and, when the original hoses apparently don't last ... that we should replace them.

It also has been said that the original hoses, like so many things BMW, are of inferior materials ... so that, when we replace deteriorated hoses, we may as well replace them with commonly available (and vastly less expensive and decidedly better hoses).

The decided-better hose suggestions have been along the line of the NAPA orange silicone hoses, for example ...

Quote:

Originally Posted by mach.schnell

Use NAPA orange silicone vacuum hose. This won't deteriorate.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jason5driver

And, who actually gets prices/ price quotes from Real OEM????

C'mon. Don't make up drama that we don't need if we're to move forward.

I'm not a spring chicken when it comes to price & vendor searches. Every time I mentioned realoem prices, I said they were 'nominal'. If you don't know what nominal means, you have basic English issues that I can't really help you with.

When we're talking generically, it's OK to deal with nominal prices. The actual prices can be higher or lower than nominal - but - in my humble experience, I almost always see dealer prices of double and often triple nominal prices (admittedly at Silicon Valley prices where a half-million-dollar home is a POS with a postage-stamp lawn and about 1200 sq feet of living space with neighbors and barking dogs two feet away from your window).

In fact, in all my years of doing price surveys, I don't think I've ever seen a price LOWER than realoem nominal at my local Silicon Valley BMW dealer (Stevenscreek BMW of San Jose).

Of course, in places where a barely decent house isn't over a million dollars, I'm sure the far-from-here BMW dealers 'might' charge less than Realoem 'nominal' prices - but that isn't the point when you're dealing with discussions of what size, and material are best for E39 vacuum hoses. But we digress ...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jason5driver

By trying to make-shift vacuum hoses for your car, you are going to end up with MORE vacuum leaks and problems IMO.

This is good advice. Since we first have to find the sum total of hoses to replace, that price will wait until we get a good list of all the hoses that 'could' deteriorate and cause vacuum leaks conditions.

On my 2001 530i M54 that nipple on the CCV is capped. I have no idea why the diagram lists a hose there or where that hose would go.

My guess is that the CCV is made to fit both the M54 and an earlier engine that used that to supply vacuum to the CCV. I would also guess that specific vacuum hose was redundant and eliminated on the M54 engine.

The diagram for my engine vacuum control shows two caps on the back of the manifold. I don't know if both are actually capped. I felt one cap which is large, so I'd guess it is the 7mm cap 11611727176. The 3.5mm cap is listed as 11611437560.

I need to replace the smaller hose that comes from the "F" connector. Does anyone know where that hose connects to?

I need to replace the smaller hose that comes from the "F" connector. Does anyone know where that hose connects to?

See this thread for more complete details:
- Correcting the F-connector errors in the realoem diagrams (1)

That small F-connector hose is #13 here which is about a foot (or so) long:

But, these Realoem diagrams STINK at showing you WHERE they actually connect!

The small hose connects from the F connector lower spout to a metal pipe which is secured on the wall just below the shock mounts (under the driver side air filter housing).

Here is my old small hose in place:

Here I am sizing the six feet of O'Reilly Auto Parts vacuum hose by connecting first to the metal pipe and then cutting to fit to the F connector:
- O'Reilly p/n P3340 $3.49 Thermoid Windshield Washer & Vacuum Tubing 5/32" x 6'

Here is the new hose from O'Reilly Auto Parts, now cut and in place on the F connector:

And, to give you a better idea of exactly what it looks like where it connects to the metal pipe, here is a closeup of the connection to item #10 vacuum pipe in the realoem diagram above.

Notice the metal vacuum pipe fits into a C-shaped metal bracket bolted to the side of the engine bay with and easy-to-lose removable rubber sleeve insert for vibration protection:
The reason the tip of the old small hose is frayed is because I was removing the hoses in the O'Reilly parking lot with the lousy screwdriver in the trunk toolkit to bring them inside for sizing.

Here are both hoses in situ on the F connector; notice they're just about the same length:
EDIT: The smaller-length broken hose in this picture is the SAP valve hose on the other side of the engine.

Attached Thumbnails

Last edited by bluebee; 10-27-2011 at 11:07 PM.
Reason: Added more clarifying pictures.

I felt one cap which is large, so I'd guess it is the 7mm cap 11611727176. The 3.5mm cap is listed as 11611437560.

I only replaced one endcap because that's all I could find; and even then, since the Realoem diagram doesn't show a size or part number, I don't know if the cap I put on is a cause for my slight vacuum leaks.

You clearly mention a SECOND endcap. What is the location of that second endcap?

Here is what the original endcap looks like, open end:

And here is what the closed end looks like on the original endcap:

It's important we find that second endcap you speak of.
Do you have a photo of it?

If it's in as bad a shape as my one endcap, I need to find it and replace it!

Once you recognize the parts, you can see the metal tube that the other end of the hose is still connected to has been slipped out of its c-shaped metal bracket (which is bolted to the metal body of the car):

It looks, to me, like the larger #17 on your diagram is the same endcap #9 on my diagram (and as shown below on my M54 engine):

So while your P/N information clarifies the sizes, there is the open question of where that THIRD endcap is located?

I'm not sure why they use a different size notation for endcaps (e.g., D=3,5MM) versus for the vacuum lines (e.g., 3,5x1,8 is 3.5mm ID & 1.8mm wall thickness) ... but here are the THREE endcaps I 'think' we need to buy (note the quantity = 2 for the smaller endcap):

This clearly is the rear vacuum port behind the sucking jet pump on my M54

Note: Searching found a vacuum endcap in the fuel system lines near the exhaust manifold; but that was in other forums and I haven't seen it here so it isn't described yet until someone gives us a better clue.

Take a sample of the hose you need to your local auto parts store they will sell you what you need. I think the vacuum hose you get at your local store is better then what BMW put on the car. Just my opinion.

Chisum

Yet another owner reported that method failed him just today.

The main problem with the "Autozone method" is that it pre-supposed the stores stock metric-sized tubing ... or even enough SAE-sized tubing to mix & match ... but, from my experience, and from that of others, they don't so that method fails, unfortunately...

Another key problem which will arise, is once you've removed the hose, now you're stuck (since it often has to be destroyed) without a source for a vacuum hose.

So, I think the 'bring it down to the store' idea qualifies as a 'bad idea'.

We need a better approach which includes being positive of the hose size, material, and availability.

EDIT: For the record, the best we can come up with (so far) for vacuum endcap location & sizes is the following:

Quote:

Originally Posted by bluebee

Thanks Steve,

By the lack of response, I'm assuming very few people, if any, actually know where the problematic endcaps lie in the E39. Even so, we'll do the best we can with the limited information available.

Based on what we found in post #20 here, out of the two, three, or four endcaps reputed to be in the E39, here's the best I can do so far without additional help:

This clearly is the rear vacuum port behind the sucking jet pump on my M54

Note: Searching found a vacuum endcap in the fuel system lines near the exhaust manifold; but that was in other forums and I haven't seen it here so it isn't described yet until someone gives us a better clue.

...Viton tubing would last longer because it is unaffected by heat and oil.

I ordered and received 5' of the 5119K41 Viton tubing 1/8" ID, 1/4" OD 1/16" wall Shore 60A. It is about as flexible as silicone tubing. I replaced the piece of tubing from the SAP valve to the hard plastic pipe under the oxygen sensor connector. This tubing is a good tight fit for that application that is listed as 3.3mm. Maybe a little tight on the hard tubing, but that's probably good. It also fits well on the lower part of the "F" connector that goes to the FPR, which is listed as 3.5mm tubing.

Looks to me as though 1/8" tubing will work for both 3.3mm and 3.5mm if it is flexible enough.

I'll replace all the 3.3mm and 3.5mm tubing I can find with the Viton tubing and let you know how much tubing I used.

Given that new information, here is the current set of recommendations for E39 vacuum tubing:

3 feet of 1/8" ID by 1/8" thick Viton tubing (Shore 60A) was idea; you don't want anything harder than Shore 60A and you can get away with only about six inches shorter in length.

The BMW diagrams for his M54 were wrong on the thin plastic tube on the passenger side connected to the SAP valve and the electric valve; it's not straight; it's actually curved.

Best to slice the old tubing longitudinally with a knife to remove.

Looks like we need a second source for that very thin & long vacuum pipe as the realoem prices are horrendous.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve530

I finished replacing the vacuum tubing between the SAP electric valve and the SAP Valve and the tubing between the lower nipple of the "F" connector and the hard tubing that goes to the FPR. That was all of the vacuum tubing I could find on the topside of my 2001 530i M54.

I used the 1/8" Viton ID tubing with 1/8" thick walls. It was a tight fit on the hard plastic tubes, but workable. I don't think you'd want anything stiffer unless it was just a little larger inside.

I started with 5 feet of tubing, and I had 2.5 feet of tubing left over. I also a short piece where I measured wrong.

It was difficult to remove the old tubing off. I had to cut it off the hard plastic tubing. I found it easiest to split the tubing with a knife and peel it off. The tubing going to the electric valve was hard to reach. You have to work blind. Also, I found that the hard plastic tubing that runs from the SAP valve along the valve cover was curved around the back. It was not two pieces of hard plastic tubing connected with flexible tubing as the diagram seems to show.

The old tubing was intact, but snapped when I tried to pull it off. It was functional, but deteriorating.

Hi. I have been reading this forum since I bought my car (E39 530i, 2001) last summer. The information available on this forum is amazing! I will take my car to a local bmw service next week to get new CCV system, dipstick tube and intake boots replaced. They will also clean the throttle body and ICV. I just cleaned my MAF using CRC air sensor cleaner. I will do the vanos seals next summer.

I have tried to study the car as much as possible. I believe that I found the 3 end caps of my car using a flashlight and a telescope mirror. See the attachment. The largest (with a crack!) should be the part no. 17, and I believe that the two others right behind it are the part no. 15. I will replace these myself next week when I get the caps from the bmw service. In the photo I had already disconnected my DISA for inspection, if you wonder what the thread is. The DISA seemed to be ok after 120 000 km. However, it seems that I need to replace the valve cover gasket and spark plugs soon.

I am glad to be able to contribute in this case! I think the additions that you made to the figure are correct. Just by looking at the photo it seems quite obvious that these are the three caps. I will verify this later when I get the replacement caps and install them. Without the mirror, only the largest cap can be seen when looking from the direction of the MAF. Actually the large cap looked like it was ok until I took the mirror and saw it from behind! I will take a photo of the old removed caps also.

I am glad to be able to contribute in this case! I think the additions that you made to the figure are correct. Just by looking at the photo it seems quite obvious that these are the three caps. I will verify this later when I get the replacement caps and install them. Without the mirror, only the largest cap can be seen when looking from the direction of the MAF. Actually the large cap looked like it was ok until I took the mirror and saw it from behind! I will take a photo of the old removed caps also.

When you get a chance please verify that the third vacuum port on your M54 is capped.

On my 2001 530i M54, two of the three ports are capped. The third port has a hose attached that goes to the SAP one-way valve. Another hose runs from the one-way valve to the SAP electric valve which is attached to the SAP valve with a hose, a pipe, and another hose. This is the source of vacuum for the SAP valve.

When you get a chance please verify that the third vacuum port on your M54 is capped. On my 2001 530i M54, two of the three ports are capped. The third port has a hose attached that goes to the SAP one-way valve. Another hose runs from the one-way valve to the SAP electric valve which is attached to the SAP valve with a hose, a pipe, and another hose. This is the source of vacuum for the SAP valve.

Great that we have other photos as well. I will get the new caps in 1-2 weeks from now, and will replace them soon after. I will then report here whether there were 2 or 3 caps that had to be replaced but for now it seems that there are 3 caps. None of them look like a vacuum line going somewhere. I believe that for some reason, some cars have a cap and others have a vacuum line in the place of the 3rd cap. Could this have something to do with the country where the car was sold? My car was originally sold in Finland and the car should have the original cold weather CCV kit also.

I think what Steve is suggesting (as shown in his combined photos below) is that you might not have an SAS (secondary air system, which consists of three major components, the air pump, the vacuum valve, and the electrical valve - all connected by vacuum tubing).